By Chen Mengyang, Zhao Wencai
Since late February, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, Zhang Ben, a Chinese engineer at a construction materials factory along Egypt’s Suez Canal, has spent one sleepless night after another following every twist in the conflict.
“I can’t sleep,” he told us. “Every day the situation seems to escalate. It wears on you.”
We have known Zhang for a long time, and years of living in the Middle East have taught us how to read the quiet signs of regional unease. His anxiety is not driven by fear that Egypt itself will be pulled into the line of fire. In a region shaken by the shockwaves of war, Egypt has remained, almost improbably, an island of relative calm.
Rather, Zhang’s unease – shared by many other Chinese nationals in the region – stems from the spillover effects of the conflict, which pose real risks to their work plans and investment arrangements in the Middle East and cast uncertainty over the livelihoods they have built here over the years.
Over the past decade, with Belt and Road co-operation expanding across the Middle East, China’s partnership network in the region has grown by leaps and bounds.
From desalination plants in Saudi Arabia to autonomous driving ventures in the United Arab Emirates, from bridges spanning the Suez Canal to industrial zones humming with activity, Chinese enterprises have become a familiar presence across sectors. What has emerged is more than a loose collection of projects; it is a deeply interwoven relationship built on complementarity and mutual benefit.
That deepening economic engagement has also taken on a human dimension: Hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens, like Zhang, now live and work across the Middle East. For them, and for the industries they help sustain, peace is not an abstract ideal but a daily necessity. It is precisely the expectation of a stable and peaceful Middle East that has encouraged continued Chinese economic co-operation with the region.
This is the context in which China’s recent push to calm the fighting should be understood.
Since the outbreak of the latest round of war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, China has moved with notable urgency. Its foreign minister has held dozens of calls with counterparts in such countries as Egypt, Iran, Israel, and Gulf states. A special envoy has crisscrossed the region in a sustained effort of diplomacy. At the United Nations, Beijing has pressed for de-escalation, dialogue and the safeguarding of maritime security, reflecting the position of many Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt.
On March 31, China and Pakistan issued a five-point initiative aimed at restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the broader Middle East. It called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the start of peace talks as soon as possible, the security of nonmilitary targets, the security of shipping lanes, and the primacy of the United Nations Charter.
China’s message to the parties involved in the conflict is clear: Exercise restraint, avoid escalation, and return to the path of dialogue.
Soon afterward, in early April, the warring parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire in Islamabad and opened the door, however cautiously, to negotiations.
Days later, China outlined a four-point framework for sustaining peace, urging the parties to uphold the principles of peaceful coexistence, national sovereignty, the international rule of law, and a balanced approach to development and security.
With the conflict at a critical juncture, China’s initiatives offer a constructive path toward easing tensions and restoring lasting stability. By prioritising stability over spectacle and co-operation over confrontation, these principles align closely with the development interests of countries across the region and reflect China’s genuine, long-standing commitment to peace in the Middle East.
From where we stand in Egypt, the parallels between the two countries are hard to miss. Both China and Egypt have managed to carve out pockets of stability in an otherwise turbulent landscape. That is no small feat in today’s world. Yet neither has been content merely to mind its own business. Both have sought, in their own ways, to leverage their influence to help stabilise the world and rebuild peace.
That is the deeper logic at work beneath the push for peace: peace is not something to be watched from the sidelines. It must be built jointly by all parties concerned. In that sense, the alignment of principles and interests makes China and Egypt ideal partners in promoting regional peace and building a community with a shared future for humanity.
The recent ceasefire has brought Zhang a measure of relief. Even so, the tension in the air is unmistakable. We asked him, “After everything, have you ever regretted working and investing in the Middle East?”
“Never,” Zhang told us. “War and unrest are not inherent to this land. The people here, like us, value peace and hope for stable development.”
“I believe,” he added, with quiet conviction, “that as the region’s ties with China deepen, and as local people unite against outside interference, the Middle East will surely become a place of peace, hope and opportunity.”
Chen Mengyang is a senior journalist at the Middle East Regional Bureau of China’s Xinhua News Agency and a senior researcher at the Xinhua Institute.
Zhao Wencai is an editor at the Middle East Regional Bureau of China’s Xinhua News Agency and a researcher at the Xinhua Institute.
